Olives are fruits that are often mistaken as vegetable because it is often used in vegetable salads. There are variations of its colors and the ones that are popularly used in many dishes are the black olives. Bright brown, dark brown and green olives look more like fruits than the black-colored ones. The fruit is rich in Vitamin E, a potent antioxidant that prevents free radicals from damaging healthy cells. A lot of beauty products today contain vitamin E especially the anti-aging creams.
Aside from Vitamin E, the fruit is also a good source of Iron. Iron helps in the production of healthy red blood cells. Red blood cells deliver oxygen to the other different types of cells in the body and it is one of the cell’s “foods”. Without enough oxygen, cells will die and it will result to abnormal functioning of organs and systems in the body.
From the healthy fruit comes the olive oil and it is one of the healthiest fat in the market. Many people have a lot of misconceptions with this oil because of its reported high-fat content. These days a lot of diseases come out due to the increase intake of fat in many food groups. A lot of people use animal fat in cooking and this type of oil can increase cholesterol levels in the blood. Many are not aware of it but animal fat is the one of the main culprit of the development of many cardiovascular diseases especially hypertension that eventually leads to stroke. Cholesterol levels going up can become uncontrollable if one is not aware of its development.
To do away with unhealthy living, one should consider using the oil of Olive. Despite its being fatty oil, many people do not know that it is not the unhealthy type of fat and it is in fact very helpful in preventing heart diseases. There are two types of cholesterol— HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein). LDL is more harmful because it is usually the major contributor to heart diseases whereas HDL is the good fat and is not harmful because it will not cause atherosclerosis and diseases related to high cholesterol level in the blood. Olive oil contains the monounsaturated type of fat which is very helpful in increasing HDL thus, will help prevent atherosclerosis or the build-up of fat deposits in the arteries. It also prevents increase in blood pressure and other heart diseases.
Olives are also good source of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber aides in good digestion and digestive tract cleansing therefore those people that are on a diet or have restrictions on their diet will not be harmed in using olive oil. Olive oil may be a lot more expensive than animal fat but the benefit outweighs the risks.
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I never knew that olives are so good. Thanks for this post!